Williston hosted its first night game since the fall of 2019 out on Sawyer Field last Saturday when the Varsity Football team hosted Deerfield Academy.

The game took place Sep. 25 at 7:00 p.m., and the theme for the night was a white out. The Williston food truck provided burgers, chicken tenders, drinks, and more to spectators, while Batch Ice Cream returned to campus after being a fan favorite last year. The spirits of the team and the fans were high, which made for a great night on campus.

Prior to Covid, football night games had always been a great Homecoming kickoff for the new school year. The last Homecoming game was in 2019, when Williston hosted Kent in an exciting back-and-forth game that led to a 35-29 Wildcat win. That game was also a white out and drew a huge crowd, one that hasn’t been seen on campus in a while due to a year of football lost to the pandemic.

On the football side of things, The Willistonian talked with the two of the captains of the Varsity Football Team, Zach Walker, a senior from Ware, Mass., and Dallas Elliott, a senior from Leeds, Mass.

Zach praised his team’s resiliency against a tough Deerfield squad, as well as their energy on the field.

“I thought the energy on the field was great for the most part,” Zach said. “I’m proud of the way we rallied back after being down 14 in the first quarter.”

Dallas also thought that the team brought great energy, with a bit of help from the home crowd.

“The energy on the field during the game was awesome!” Dallas said. “It is great to know that all of those people were out supporting us on a Saturday night. I think the whole team was already very excited going into the game, but having that kind of support from the crowd definitely makes my heart beat a little faster.”

Thomas Beaton, the Head Coach of the football team, was proud of the fight he saw in his team, as well as the support they got from students.

“The energy from our guys was great all night long. At no point did our guys give up. They just kept fighting,” Beaton said. “[The crowd] was far and away the best crowd I’ve seen at Williston and although it might not have been reflected on the scoreboard, our players fed off the energy from the student section.”

The students had a great time at the game, despite Williston’s 49-26 loss. Emily Crovo, a junior boarder from Melrose, Mass., was thrilled to finally experience a night game again.

“I had a really great time despite the outcome,” Emily said. “I enjoyed getting all whited out and I finally got to put my bucket hat to use. I enjoyed how almost the whole school showed up to support.”

Deerfield also had some fan support at the game, students were allowed to come if they could find transportation. Their fan section was significantly smaller, but it didn’t diminish their confidence, as they often found themselves in Williston’s student section.

Sarah Markey, Williston’s Senior Class President and a day student from Northampton Mass., had an epic rock, paper, scissors battle with some Deerfield students sitting in Williston’s section during the game.

“It kept going for 15 rounds with no conclusion,” Sarah said. “Finally, ‘rock, paper, scissors shoot,’ I throw paper, he throws rock. I beat him and he got drenched in baby powder. It was then [that] the Deerfield boys agreed to leave.”

It was a great way to get the crowd excited, Sarah said.

“The crowd got so into it, everyone was fired up,” Sarah added. “Our energy was up after the rock, paper, scissors victory.”